2022 Fall Event Program

FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

Fertile Ground: Building a Synodal Church

Rafael Luciani Keynote Presenter

Sr. Maureen Sullivan Louis. J. Trivison Award

C E L E B R AT I N G

30

YEARS

Yunuen Trujillo Christine Schenk Award

as she receives the Louis Trivison Award.

Maureen Sullivan, OP, Ph.D. congratulate our sister and Theologian The Dominican Dominican Sisters Sisters of of Hope Hope The

The Dominican Sisters of Hope congratulate our sister and Theologian congratulate our sister and Maureen Sullivan, OP, Theologian Ph.D.

Maureen Sullivan, OP, Ph.D. The Dominican Sisters ofAward.

Hope as she receives the Louis Trivison as she receives the Louis Trivison Award.

ngratulate our sister and Theologi Maureen Sullivan, OP, Ph.D.

he receives the Louis Trivison Aw

 More Content

Contents

including videos available on our newly designed and easy to use website: https://futurechurch.org

Event Sponsors 4 Board, Staff, and Volunteers

6

Welcome 8 Agenda 9 Keynote Speaker and Award Recipients

10

FutureChurch Synod Work

13

Catholic Women Preach

21

Racial Justice 25 Women in the Church 33 Mary Magdalene 43 Building Community Online 49 Advertisers 51

With Gratitude for Your Support* Scholarship Sponsors $1,000+

Watch Party $200

Anonymous (1) Anonymous Fan of Catholic Women Preach Joan and Richard Beach Barbara and Wayne Beimesch Mary Catherine Bunting Marlene DeLeon and Thomas Lucci Fairfield University Center for Catholic Studies Rita L. Houlihan Anne Jenkins Liz Maxwell Sally Morris and Alan Pardee Mary and Todd Ray

Bob Kloos Shelley and Rick Mack Patricia and David Repko

Ticket Sponsors $500 Anonymous (1) Association of US Catholic Priests Fr. Charlie Diedrick Dominican Sisters of Peace Mary Louise and Charles Hartman Anna and Joseph Houlihan Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati

Partners $150 Tom Carroll, OFM Frances Dechant Constance Dubick Chuck and Eileen Garven Joseph Guyon, C.O. Beth A. Hassel Constance Herron Las Vegas Catholic Worker Mary S. Laver Janet and Jeff Leitch Rose Lue Mary Ellen McCarthy Lucy Rieger Carol Weiss

Classic Sponsors $300 Maureen J. Belinson Jim and Peggy Connell Bill and Darleen Daly Dominican Sisters of Hope Dominican Sisters of Racine Fr. F. Tony Gallagher Virginia M. Giuffre Marie and Mark Graf Elizabeth and Stephen Guss Penelope S. Jeffrey JoAnn and Gene Kramer Mattie McClane Alexina Murphy Arline and Joe Nosse Brad and Susan Pritts Kathy Rinehart and Lisa Frey Cynthia Schumacher Sue and Gene Tozzi FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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Donors Anonymous (1) Anita Baird Martha Block Elizabeth R. Brown Gloria Callaci Maureen Cerny Joan and Cornelius Cosgrove Ellen Davis Carol and James Dayton Pat Dzurilla Rose Marie and Noel Egensperger Margie Ferstl Sr. Carlotta Gilarde Daryl Grigsby Patricia Hardesty Sr. Joan Hanna Joe A. Iannone Andrea Koverman, S.C. Frank Manning Margie

Ann McEntee Rita and Jim Mize Sally Monahan Carole Morales Carol A. Parowski John Pillar Joan Poulin Patricia and David Repko Catherine Scheidt Paul Schellhammer Eileen Schneider Barbara Schubert MaryLex Smith Anne Storey Carty Margaret A. Trivison Barbara Valuckas Joe Vasa Nancy Warfield Paul Wysocki Vivian Zoller

* Listing as of October 28, 2022 FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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FutureChurch Board, Staff, and Volunteers Board of Trustees

FutureChurch Staff

Chair

Todd Ray

Co Directors

Vice-chair

Sean Gargamelli-McCreight

Secretary

Marie Graf

Treasurer

James Connell

Board Joseph Miller Development At Large Tom Carroll, OFM Crystal Catalan Jane Collen Leslye Colvin Nontando Hadebe Rita Houlihan

Mûmbi Kîgûtha, CPPS

Andrea Koverman, SC Vickey McBride Andrew Switzer Emeritus

Deborah Rose Russ Petrus Development Consultant

Ann Marie L. Nocella

Executive Director Emerita Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ

Office Volunteers Carol Anders Maureen Cerny Frances DeChant Kathy Rossman

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton

Ex-Officio Deborah Rose Russ Petrus

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FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

Advisory Board

Editorial Board

M. Shawn Copeland Bishop Kevin Dowling, CSSR Richard Gaillardetz Thomas Groome Nontando Hadebe Mary Catherine Hilkert, OP Astrid Lobo-Gamiwala James Keenan, SJ Fr. Raymond B. Kemp, STL Paul Lakeland Astrid Lobo-Gamiwala James Martin, SJ Rhonda Miska Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ Brian Pierce, OP Nancy Pineda-Madrid Barbara Reid, OP Kerry Robinson Christine Schenk, CSJ Jude Siciliano, OP

Marianne Race, CSJ Janet Schlichting, OP Mary Ann Wiesemann-Mills, OP

Steering Committee Jocelyn Collen Diana Culbertson, OP Elizabeth Donnelly Rita L. Houlihan Russ Petrus Deborah Rose-Milavec

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From the Co-Directors

Deborah Rose & Russ Petrus

Hello! And welcome to FutureChurch’s 32nd Annual Fall Event!

First and foremost, thank you for all you have done to support FutureChurch over the years. Without you, FutureChurch and the work we do for Vatican II reform would not exist.

We extend a special welcome to our keynote presenter, Rafael Luciani, STD.; and our honorees, Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP and Yunuen Trujillo. We are honored that you have accepted our invitations to be a part of these evenings. Thank you for the work you do for the good of the Church and all God’s people.

It is a hopeful time to be a Catholic as we witness the Spirit at work before our very eyes on this Synodal journey. The Spirit is revealing herself through the persistence and witness of faithful Catholics who continue to seek the promise of the Gospel and the vision of Vatican II. And it has our profound privilege and deep honor as Co-Directors of FutureChurch to help create spaces where the Spirit can speak to and through all of us throughout this journey.

We look forward to continuing along this path with all of you - discerning, dreaming, hoping - helping to bring about the changes needed to build a radically inclusive Church that is alive with the gifts, talents, and faith of all its members.

In gratitude & hope,

Deborah Rose

FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

Russ Petrus

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Agenda Thursday

November 3, 2022 | Awards Ceremony Meet the Speaker Gathering Welcome & Opening Prayer Offered by

Russ Petrus

Crystal Catalan

2022 Christine Schenk Award for Young Catholic Leaders Introduction

Acceptance of Award

Sean Gargamelli-McCreight Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL Yunuen Trujillo

2021 Fr. Louis J. Trivison Award Introduction

Todd Ray

Acceptance of Award

Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP

Thank You & Closing Prayer Offered by

Deborah Rose Sr. Andrea Koverman, SC

Thursday

November 10, 2022 | Keynote Presentation Meet the Speaker Gathering Welcome & Opening Prayer Offered by

Deborah Rose

Vickey McBride

Keynote Presentation Introduction of Keynote Speaker Keynote Presentation

Rita L. Houlihan Rafael Luciani, STD

Thank You & Closing Prayer Offered by

FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

Russ Petrus Rev. Andrew Switzer Page 9

Keynote Presenter Rafael Luciani, S.T.D. FutureChurch warmly welcomes Rafael Luciani, S.T.D., a world renown expert on synodality in the Catholic Church. A lay theologian from Venezuela, he has been appointed as Expert of the Theological Commission of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops.

Luciani holds degrees of Doctor in Theology and Licenciate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome; Baccalaureatum in Philosophy and Baccalaureatum in Theology from the Pontifical Salesian University of Rome; and Licenciate in Education (with mention in Philosophy) earned from the Jesuit`s Catholic University Andrés Bello in Caracas.

He is an Associate Professor of the Practice at Boston College and is currently engaged in postdoctoral research activities at the Julius-Maximilians Universität in Würzburg, Germany.

He is the author of Synodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the Church.

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2022 Louis J. Trivison Award Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP

Named for FutureChurch co-founder, Fr. Louis Trivison, this award is given to a Roman Catholic who exhibits outstanding leadership in advancing FutureChurch’s Vatican II mission or vision in one or more areas of teaching, administration, research, publication, advocacy, and pastoral care.

FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

FutureChurch is honored to present Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP with the 2022 Louis J. Trivison in recognition her life-long efforts to educate Catholics about the importance of the Second Vatican Council.

A Dominican Sister of Hope from New York, Sr. Maureen is Professor Emerita of Theology at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. She received her Master of Arts in Theology from Manhattan College in the Bronx and her Ph.D. in Theology from Fordham University, also in the Bronx.

The Second Vatican Council, along with its impact on our Church, is at the center of her theological research.

Sr. Maureen Sullivan recently lead a four-part series, for FutureChurch, exploring Vatican II documents as the foundation for the 2023 Synod. Videos to each of the presentations and PDFs of Sr. Maureen’s presentations can be found at https://futurechurch.org/fertile-ground.

She has written two books on Vatican II: 101 Questions and Answers on Vatican II (2002) and The Road to Vatican II: Key Changes in Theology (2007).

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2022 Christine Schenk Award for Young Leaders Yunuen Trujillo FutureChurch is proud to present Yunuen Trujillo with the 2022 Christine Schenk Award for Young Catholic Leaders in recognition of her with and on behalf of the LGBTQ+ Catholic Community.

Trujillo is a Catholic lay minister, a faith-based community organizer, and an immigration attorney. As a lay minister, she has served in young adult ministry for more than 15 years and is one of the leading figures for inclusive Catholic LGBT Ministry in the United States. She is a regular speaker at the yearly Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, where she teaches about inclusive LGBT Ministry.

She has worked with L.A. Voice PICO, a faith-based, multi-faith, multi-racial organization that works to create a society that reflects the dignity of all persons; working on issues such as immigrant rights, education, and criminal justice reform. Yunuen is also the founder of the Instagram @lgbtcatholics, an online platform of resources for Catholic LGBT Ministry, and she is the Religious Formation Coordinator (Sp) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She is the author of the new book, LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry (Paulist Press, 2022).

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Named for FutureChurch co-founder, Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ, this award is given to a young Roman Catholic whose research, writing, advocacy, or ministry exhibits outstanding leadership in promoting justice in the church and whose efforts will inspire and foster a new generation of reformers and activists.

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FutureChurch Synod Sessions Catholics Pray, Listen and Discern During FutureChurch Synodal Sessions

Over the course of six weeks in Lent, nearly 600 Catholics from the United States and around the world, took part in FutureChurch’s synod listening sessions. Representing more than 170 Dioceses, they told their stories of faith and perseverance and shared their doubts, hopes, and dreams for a synodal Church. The report, “In Our Own Words,” summarized the fruit of the gatherings and highlighted recurring themes. continued on next page...

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Pope Francis has called for a new way of being church. Rooted in the principles of Vatican II, he is preparing Catholics all over the world to enter into a new paradigm of relating to one another and discerning the future. He is urging us to “walk together” as we shape our collective future by listening to and learning from one another.

Most importantly, he and his synod leaders, Sr. Natalie Becquart and Cardinal Mario Grech, are endeavoring to make the voices of those who have been excluded heard.

•

Open all ministries participation.

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Open synods at every level to women’s full participation, decision making, and voting.

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Open governance, leadership, and teaching offices to women as co-equals so that they may be equally influential in the development of teachings, policies, canon law, etc.

•

Open preaching to women and laity.

Although the term “synodality” may be new, the Catholics who participated in this survey have been “walking together” in solidarity with marginalized sisters and brothers for most of their Catholic lives.

They have listened deeply to the suffering of those excluded and, as faith-filled Catholics, they invest their God-given life energies to bring about a richer, more just and inclusive Catholic community and world. They attest that their faith is rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching. And to the extent we can grow into an authentically synodal church, these Catholics say “Amen.”

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Open the diaconate to women.

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Open the priesthood to women.

The issues that were addressed were the priest shortage and subsequent parish closings, lay leadership in the Church, women’s equality in the Church, faith and public life, and racism within the Church.

Participants were nearly unanimous on some issues: Ninety-nine percent strongly agreed or agreed that married men should be ordained as priests.

Ninety-nine percent strongly agreed or agreed that women should be ordained.

Participants also indicated strong agreement (94 - 99%) on what Church leaders should do to enrich the Church and make justice a greater reality: •

Reverse “Ordinatio Sacerdotalis”

•

Place women of color and women with diverse identities in positions of leadership, ministry and decision making.

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to

women’s

full

While most participants shared their difficulty in staying in the church, almost 90% still considered themselves Catholic and more than 84% agreed that they are strongly committed to staying and renewing the Church.

Throughout the six weeks, participants shared their joys and sorrows, their heartaches and hopes, and their dreams for a more inclusive Church.

The eight hundred page report that included all the words our participants shared was sent to Pope Francis, the Synod office, the Apostolic Nuncio, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and individual bishops on Pentecost. We have received confirmation and positive responses from the Vatican Synod office and some of our bishops.

We will continue to press forward to make these voices heard. One participant spoke for many with these words: I wanted you to know how much this effort means to me and so many others. It is wonderful to gather together and know that our voices will be carried to the Vatican. ~participant

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To see the full report go to: https://futurechurch.org/justice-inthe-church/synod-report/

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Catholics Learn How to “Shift the Culture” toward Synodality In October, over sixty Catholics from the United States, Canada and other parts of the world gathered weekly to learn more about how to advance the promise and potential of synodality.

Having worked and worshiped in a top-down hierarchical church where clericalism thrives, these Catholics were enthusiastic to learn more about the synodality that Pope Francis has been generating since the beginning of his papacy. Participants were reminded of Pope Francis’ words, “The path of synodality is the path that God expects of His Church in the third millennium.”

With revolutionary repercussions for all the faithful, synodality promises that both lay and ordained will share co-responsiblity for discerning and calling forth new expressions of leadership, ministry, and governance.

Using Vatican Synod consultant Rafael Luciani’s book, Synodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the Church, participants were offered a solid theological foundation for the creative work that lies ahead.

Luciani offers a stark wake-up call, writing, “Synodality is not a mere act of administrative reorganization…what is at stake is the Church’s fidelity to her calling as a follower of Jesus Christ and her response to the signs of the times.”

Catholics who joined were affirmed in what many already knew, that the clericalist system is the main obstacle to synodality.

Bishops hold all the power - the executive, judicative, and legislative. And the consequences of this culture have been disastrous – with the multiplication of clergy sex abuse crimes & coverup and financial scandals, and much more…

(Hunermann, foreword).

Luciani is clear. The institution is failing because clericalism is still the operating system rooted in a) the theology of ordained ministry, b) the exercise of power in hierarchy, c) celibacy, d) a culture of secrecy, e) the relation between power and impotence in hierarchy, and f) the idea of ontological change at ordination.

Further, canon law was developed in a clericalist culture and supports a clericalist institution. Ordination became an ontological mark of superiority rather than of service and created a two-tier system with laity in an inferior position. In order for synodality to take hold, for now, canon law must be exercised in a relaxed mode. But, without a doubt, canon law must be changed to support a non-clericalist model of church authorizing the full and equal participation and co-responsibility of lay leaders, ministers, and decision-makers in the church.

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The only way out of the clericalist system is to enter into the synodal way of being church. This new way not only calls the church to be pastoral and listening, but to be a church that governs through discernment with the whole Body of Christ making decisions rooted in that discernment.

Participants in the book study found that the combination of study, prayer, small group discussions and guest speakers advanced their understanding of synodality. Eighty-eight percent (88%) feel more confident that they can shift the culture of the Church toward synodality where laity and ordained share the responsibilities of discernment and decision making. One hundred percent (100%) better understand what Pope Francis is trying to achieve in terms of synodality.

Seventy five percent (75%) feel better equipped to bring synodality in some form to their parish, community or diocese while 61% said they have a plan or an idea of how to begin or strengthen synodality in their parish, community, or diocese.

And while many welcome this moment and movement of the Spirit, the radical shift will obligate us, not only to listen and walk together, but to undertake the difficult and long work of discerning together and power sharing. We will have to intentionally engage different points of view, face-to-face, in the spirit of communal discernment. This kind of living, breathing, Gospelcentered Church will require all of us to engage in profound forms of praying, meeting, working Participants shared what they found helpful in the together, discerning, making and taking decisions sessions: together.

The speakers were inspiring and experienced, Participants also learned that synodality is not a onenot just teaching but living the change they time effort, but an ongoing one, where - together advocate. I relished the break-out groups, - we will “shift the culture.” Synodality requires us which have become more free, and true with to fundamentally redefine our ecclesiology. THE each passing week. I speak, first, of how I feel ECCLESIAL “WE”, is a communion of equals, from participating in the breakout groups. We are the pope to the laity, with the equal responsibility learning to listen for the Spirit and to hear their regarding identity, vocation, and mission. presence . . . Today’s group was special in giving a strong sense of affirmation to me personally Luciani stresses that synodality begins in the local and to the synodality process as already present church. While there was a progressive devaluation in our lives in the faith. of local cultures as normative for re-interpreting tradition, theology, and faith after Paul VI, Referring to the presentation made by Vatican synodality rooted in authentic catholicity takes us Synod consultant Kristin Colberg, one participant in an entirely different direction. wrote that the most important take- away was, “discovering that the same themes that were Synodality, at its heart, is rooted in and enriched emerging in local gatherings, including some in by the multifaceted manifestations of particular which I have participated, have made it through churches and their cultures. Synodality will lead to a to the highest levels without apparently being re-ordering of the influencers who have historically censored.” shaped the teachings, policies, theologies, laws, and practice of the universal church. Thus, we are And in stating what they needed to continue to transitioning from a Western, monocultural church advance synodality, participants offered: centered in Rome and the primacy of the Pope to I just need to link with others with the same vision a global and intercultural church that recognizes or who want to be involved. I am so energized the authority of the local church. by these presentations.

Luciani writes that we need to affirm the splendid More sharing sessions. All of the others in my evidence of catholicity as we embrace the variety breakout group are really struggling. How can of local Churches with their own ecclesiastical we support them? disciplines, liturgical rites, theological heritage, spiritual gifts, and canonical norms.

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Expert Presenters

A continuing ability to be in touch with what is being done in various places at the local level as well as the progress on the universal level. I loved hearing that in some parishes, when they finished their synod discussions people said, “We should do this again next year.” They got the point.

Some wanted practical guidelines asking for more training and prayers. Another suggested, “A model outline/plan that enables us to approach our pastor and get this off the ground!”

Sr. Donna Ciangio, OP

Kelly Meraw

Presenters like Sr. Donna Ciangio and Kelly Meraw certainly offered some very practical guidance as well as inspiration. During the final session, Professor Kristin Colberg, who was part of the drafting team for the Continental Phase Document, marveled at the many similarities in concerns that were shared across diverse regions and continents. She said that overwhelmingly, Catholics around the world want a) more formation for laity, priests, and bishops, b) more inclusion in all aspects of church life, ministry, and leadership, c) better homilies, and d) a concern about the exit of young people from the church.

 To view the videos from the book study and explore resources from our presenters, go to: https://futurechurch.org/justice-in-thechurch/a-study-of-synodality/

Kristin Colbert, Ph.D.

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And stay tuned for more opportunities and resources in the future!

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Synod Synthesis a Significant Step Toward Authentic Expression of U.S. Catholics Concerns and Hopes The National Synod Synthesis released by the There was transparency in reporting Catholic United States Conference of Catholic Bishops concerns about the ravages of clergy sex abuse; (USCCB) on September 19, 2022 represented a the need for fully incorporating women in ordained significant step toward advancing the promise ministry, preaching, and governance; racial and of Vatican II. The synthesis went a long way in indigenous justice; LGBTQ+ inclusion; and a host capturing an authentic expression of the faithful of other issues that have been sidelined or ignored – their concerns, joys, for too long. The report sorrows, and hopes for also included the preferred CATHOLIC BISHOPS a church where Gospel acronym, LGBTQ+, instead values of justice, equality, of Catholic nomenclature inclusivity, care for the that has been offensive to marginalized, and care for so many Catholics. This was creation, and more – are a sign of respect that was core to its mission. denied at the 2018 Synod on Youth when bishops stripped The concerns and hopes of it from the final document. the nearly 600 faith-filled Catholics who participated The National Synthesis is in FutureChurch’s synod hopeful precisely because it sessions during Lent were fairly represents the prophetic very much reflected in voices of the People of God the National Synthesis. and not the doctrinaire National Synthesis of the People of God The inclusion of Catholic rigidity and clericalism in the United States of America for the voices who have long been that we have consistently Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod marginalized or dismissed experienced at the hands of by popes, bishops and many U.S. bishops. But we other church leaders is a also recognize that this initial positive sign that synodality step must be followed by -- a new way of sharing authority, ministry, and additional concrete efforts to form and empower decision making -- is unfolding in our time. all Catholics to actualize this new, synodal way of being and doing Church where all have a share in The Rome-bound document synthesized 290 discernment, leadership, and ministry. reports received from 179 dioceses, other offices, and 112 Catholic organizations and associations. FutureChurch continues to create opportunities Sixteen regions were formed to make the reporting for Catholics to enter more fully and confidently task manageable with fifteen representing dioceses into this new co-responsible way of discerning the and eparchies. To capture the voices of Catholics future of our church. Stay tuned! who participated through Catholic organizations like FutureChurch and other associations and To read FutureChurch’s report, which was sent to national ministries, a sixteenth region was created. Rome and to our bishops of our synod process which includes an appendix with all the participant It is both refreshing and hopeful to see this good responses go to https://futurechurch.org/justicefaith effort by the U.S. Synod writing team to in-the-church/synod-report/. reflect the voices of faithful Catholics who have long worked for a more just and inclusive church.

UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF

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Catholics Find Hope in Vatican Reform Praedicate Evangelium

On March 19, 2022 the Vatican published Praedicate evangelium (Preach the Gospel), Pope Francis’ longanticipated apostolic constitution reforming the organization and structure of the Roman Curia.

FutureChurch welcomed the reforms, the possibilities they open, and urged all Church leaders – at the national, diocesan, and parish level – to study the document and discern ways they can incorporate the directives into their own structures.

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“Pope Francis has slowly placed women into leadership roles in the Vatican over the last few years.

But with this new constitution, he codifies that practice, opening significant potential for women and all lay people to have greater authority in leading, influencing, and making decisions at the highest levels of our Church.”

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Praedicate Evangelium does more than reform the Curia.

Pope Francis is restructuring the Church in light of the Second Vatican Council so that in its entirety, the Church is marked by its transparency, collaboration, and missionary and servant discipleship. Even the title – Preach the Gospel – calls for a Church that is engaged, active, and dialogical with the world around it. Praedicate Evangelium went into effect on June 5 and fully replaces Pastor bonus (The Good Shepherd) which was issued by Pope John Paul II in June 1988.

One of the most notable changes is the opening to “any member of the faithful” to lead one of the 16 dicasteries – or departments. FutureChurch has long advocated for the decoupling of ordination and Church leadership. Pope Francis has slowly placed women into leadership roles in the Vatican over the last few years. But with this new constitution, he codifies that practice, opening significant potential for women and all lay people to have greater authority in leading, influencing, and making decisions at the highest levels of our Church. The Roman Catholic Church has always had a credibility problem when it comes to preaching the Gospel in the world because they’ve excluded half the Church from leadership and ministry. This change could offer significant strides for women – not only in the Vatican – but in every corner of the world.

While the constitution maintains that dicasteries and other bodies within the Curia are “all juridically equal to each other,” it gives the highest priority to the Dicastery for Evangelization, signaling its centrality within the Vatican. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which had previously occupied this place of privilege will have less influence in the overall configuration of the Church.

In the past, too many faithful Catholics working in theology and in pastoral and mission roles have been punished for questioning some of the positions of the Church. They have endured investigations, censure, and silencing spearheaded by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. This change is a shift toward Vatican II that will aid the Church in better discerning the future in light of the Holy Spirit and the signs of the times.

Much of the work of the People of God, especially those who have been working for change alongside FutureChurch, is coming to fruition. But these changes must not stop at the Vatican. National episcopal conferences, dioceses, and parishes must also create equal space for women and the laity to lead the work of evangelization. The changes will not be easy or come overnight, but they are necessary if we are to engage the world in a meaningful way with the message of the Gospel.

FutureChurch will continue to press Church leaders when they fall short.

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Catholic Women Preach - The Book A Moment and a Movement

The rules of the Church may officially bar them from offering a homily at Mass, but Catholic women can and do preach! Moreover, their preaching contributes profoundly to the common life of all the People of God - laity and ordained alike. And with the publication of the first volume of Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church it is easier than ever for all the faithful to access, lift up, and celebrate women’s wisdom and witness!

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Emerging from the ground-breaking website, Catholic Women Preach, this collection of reflections on the readings for Sundays and other feast days, offers an invaluable resource for weekly meditation, an inspiration for homilists, and an aid to enriching the church with diverse voices and experiences.

This is an important milestone not only for Catholic Women Preach, but in the history of our Church.

By bearing witness to the contributions and giftedness of Catholic women, Catholic Women Preach is advancing the conversation with and about women at every level of the Church.

Published by Orbis Books, this first of three volumes is available just in time for the beginning of Cycle A of the liturgical calendar, which begins in Advent this November 2022. The volume opens with an empowering foreword by Sr. Barbara Reid, OP, one of the world’s leading scholars in feminist interpretation of the Scriptures, and an introduction by co-editors, Elizabeth Donnelly and Russ Petrus, telling the story of Catholic Women Preach.

Other contributors include esteemed womanist and Black Catholic theologian, M. Shawn Copeland; Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS; African lay theologian and gender justice advocate, Nontando Hadebe; acclaimed author and speaker, Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB; and executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ. Together, the sixty-four contributors represent an extraordinary range of voices – religious and lay, scholars, activists, and pastoral leaders of every age and ethnicity. Week in and week out, these extraordinarily gifted women have helped us mourn, celebrate, confront, and find hope in our lived realities. They have been there, challenging and inspiring us when migrant families were being separated at the border, through the worst of the COVID pandemic, and as we continue to reckon with and struggle against white supremacy and racist violence.

FutureChurch hosted a virtual book launch on October 25, 2022 to celebrate this momentous step in amplifying and centering women’s voices FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

Cover Art by Laura James

in the Catholic Church. The launch event featured Sr. Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, an authority on the role of women in the early Church; Virginia Saldanha, a theologian-activist and journalist in India; Kerry Alys Robinson, founding executive director and partner for global and national initiatives at Leadership Roundtable; and Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI, national director of vocations for the Marianist Sisters.

An in-person launch event is being planned for December 7th at Catholic Theological Union’s Bernardin Center in Chicago, Illinois with Sr. Barbara Reid, OP heading the evenings’ activities.



Purchase your copy at https://orbisbooks.com/products/catholicwomen-preach-raising-voices-renewing-thechurch-cycle-a

Royalties benefit Catholic Women Preach

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Catholic Women Preach Continues to Break Ground and Inspire On November 1, 2022 - All Saints Day - Catholic Women Preach entered its seventh groundbreaking year! Since launching in 2016, Catholic Women Preach has helped bring the wisdom and witness of women breaking open the word to Catholics – lay and ordained, young and old alike.

time we share a reflection on social media. Doing so ensures that even if this younger audience is not tuning in for an entire video, they are benefitting from the wisdom and witness of women.

In the year ahead, we intend to experiment with different ways of reaching this social media audience.

To date, 314 remarkable Catholic women from around the globe have offered 368 inspiring and challenging reflections. Week in and week out, We have dedicated more resources to our they have helped us mourn, celebrate, confront, podcast, which is a source of great hope and potential for the future! and find hope in our lived realities.

We have grown! Catholic Women Preach videos have been viewed more than 447,00 times – and an increase of about 65,000 views in the last year! engaging viewers in over 2.13 million minutes hearing and seeing Catholic women preach!

Our YouTube audience continues to grow, adding 365 subscribers over the last year for a total of more than 2,200 subscriptions on the platform.

Overall, the demographics of the viewing audience has remained steady over the years. Our viewers are predominantly female (80%) and over the age of 55 (90%).

CWP Podcast Audience by Age

We are reaching a younger audience – on Launched in 2018, our podcast has been listened to more than 92,000 times with a growing average different platforms and in different ways: weekly audience of 223 listeners. Analytics confirm We earned 1,770 followers on Facebook over that our podcast audience is significantly younger the year for a total of 7078 followers. While this than our video and social media audience. audience remains predominantly female, it also 65% of the podcast audience is under the age of trends much younger with more than half (51.7%) 45 and the largest share is between the ages of 23 under the age of 55. and 27 (23%). The podcast audience is also more Our Twitter following continues to grow as well – gender diverse at 69% female and 29% male and adding 462 follows in the last year – for a total of 2% unspecified.

2388 followers. While we know a little less about These numbers are very promising and highlight our Twitter audience, anecdotal evidence and potential for engaging a younger, more gender industry averages tell us that Twitter users are even diverse podcast audience in the years ahead! younger.

Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org for weekly An important component of our social media preaching that inspires! outreach is to include an image with a brief quote that encapsulates the preacher’s message each FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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Catholic Women Preach Centers Women of Color for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter In 2022, Catholic Women Preach once again intentionally centered the voices of women of color during Lent, Holy Week, and on Easter Sunday – the most sacred time in the Liturgical year. It is a privilege and honor to lift up these under-represented voices who offer challenging and invigorating reflections on the Scriptures. Moreover, these reflections were the basis for a Lenten course for lay and ordained offered by Crossroads – the continuing education program for the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. Visit our YouTube Page to view the entire collection of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter preaching.

Preaching for Holy Thursday, Cecilia GonzálezAndrieu, offers a reflection on stubborn hope: “As we step out of our comfort into the starkness of what is real, we transcend fear to see clearly that we must continue on to Jerusalem because that is where change happens.”

Evoking the lunch counter sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Kim Harris preaches for Holy Thursday, offering a reflection on setting a welcome table: “Do we see, as we look at our table, not only who is there, but who is not there? Who is not invited? Who is invited but cannot gain access?”

Lifting up the experience of her ancestors, Valerie D. LewisMosley, OPA preaches for Good Friday: “Whenever I would ask my grandparents and greatgrandparents about their experiences in the Jim Crow south of segregation and the terror of the Ku Klux Klan, their response was ‘A burning cross has no power over the Cross of Calvary.’”

Preaching for Easter, Kimberly Lymore encourages us to find resurrection in our own lives: “Today is the day we resurrect our dreams, our faith, our peace, whatever it is we have buried.”

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Black Catholic Women Lead the Church through Rocky Times In 2009, Sr. Loretta Theresa Richards, FHM, a Black religious in a church where Black Catholics are a minority, was clear: “The Catholic Church wouldn’t be Catholic if it wasn’t for us.” [i]

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From the 15th century start of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Catholic slaveholders from Spain and Portugal forcibly transported African and African descended peoples to the Americas with papal approval. Nicolas V (Dum Diversas, 1452) and Alexander XI (Inter Caetera, 1493) both sanctioned trafficking and slavery. Many of those who were kidnapped were practicing Catholics as the Kingdom of Kongo converted to Catholicism in 1491. From 1619 until 1740, the majority of Africans that were brought to the Americas were from Central Africa which included the Kingdom of Kongo. As the brutal enterprise expanded, with more colonial powers throughout Europe joining in, over 12.5 million people were stolen, trafficked, sold, raped, tortured, and killed.

As Black Catholics face the disproportionate concentration of parishes and schools slated for closure, sociologist Tia Noelle Pratt, who researches systemic racism writes, “We see churches closing in our diocese that serve large Black Catholic populations. Black churches bear the burden of that when dioceses decide that churches need to close and parishes need to reorganize.”[v]

Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies in New Orleans observes that in the face of white supremacy, the killing of Black women and men by law enforcement, and the white nationalism that has become a destructive, brutal political force throughout the While those with institutional Catholic power United States, “Black Catholic women are not in the public dialogue of current became the largest corporate slaveholders in the fully represented [vi] Americas, Catholic women of color contested the events…”. legitimacy of slavery and slave-holding peoples. While “leadership of our U.S. Catholic Church After the Civil War, when the Catholic Church struggle to respond to the current state of affairs largely supported segregation, Black Catholic with moral authority, Gospel value clarity and a women faithfully and effectively contested consistent praxis that reflects its own teaching”, discrimination and segregationist policies in white Bellow sees that: Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, convents, Black Catholic women are very clear that Black seminaries, and neighborhoods[ii] and changed the lives matter. Some of us have taken to the streets trajectory of Catholicism in the United States. to protest; others are responding creatively — Yet, the witness, contributions, and faith of Black in word, music, the arts, mask-making. We are Catholic women is not well known in most white busy raising children, checking the wellness of Catholic circles. To date, there are no African spouses and friends, caring for elders. Some have American Catholics who have been canonized, responsibility for multiple generations of Black although there are extraordinary efforts underway lives in an age when support and resources — to canonize Henriette DeLille, Thea Bowman, health care, education, internet access, paycheck Mother Mary Lange, and Julia Greeley.[iii] protection, rule of law — are reserved for those who can already well afford them.

Recently, the critical role Black Catholic women play in shaping our tradition is receiving new Olga Segura, former Opinion Editor for National recognition. According to the Pew Research Catholic Reporter, asked if the bishops believe Center, 89% of Black Catholic women believe Black lives matter: women should be senior religious leaders and 75% I believe that the church must explicitly declare: say that gender equality is critical to their faith.[iv] Black Lives Matter. This would allow the church Further, the voices and witness of Black Catholic and its leaders to work with a group that has women are rising as they call the U.S. Bishops the experience and policies already in place for to reject racist practices and show authentic working toward racial justice — especially with a leadership in confronting the evils of white younger generation of activists who have worked supremacy within the Church and white to fight for issues many in the Catholic Church nationalism in society. fight for, including immigration reform.[vii] FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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Black Catholic pastoral theologian, Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley points out the obvious - but ignored - reality of Black women: Historically no one could hear, protect or defend Black women, as they were brutalized, maimed and raped by those who had legal although illegitimate jurisdiction over the bodies of our African matriarchal ancestors.

Generations later, attacks on the bodies of Black women continue. This also occurs in the unjustified challenges to the Black feminine voice. The breaking of their bodies and shedding of their blood by police force and brutality often ends in loss of the very sanctity of life and dignity of the human womanist life force. It is the killing of the Imago Dei in the feminine spirit…the aborted life of Black women and girls…[viii] The scourge of clergy sex abuse and the coverup can be found in the earliest records of the slave trade when clerics purchased and raped African women at will.[ix] Rev. Bryan Massingale points out Patricia Grey. by Chloe Becker. Commissioned by FutureChurch. that the racist stereotyping that portrayed Black women as sexually promiscuous began during Survival of Soul” the NBSC set out their work: the era of slavery is present today such that “Black We, the members of the National Black Sisters victims of sexual abuse are even less likely to be Conference pledge to work unceasingly for believed than white victims.”[x] the liberation of black people.

Black Catholic women, consecrated and lay, have The reality in American society today makes been at the forefront of resisting and dismantling it inescapably clear to us that our attempt to white supremacy, segregation, and white free black people must begin with a forthright nationalism. But the stories of their resistance are denunciation of the problem recognizable as just beginning to be heard. “The saga of America’s white racism. Expressions of individual and black women who have dared to be poor, chaste, institutional racism found in our society and and obedient is largely untold,” wrote Sister Mary within our Church are declared by us to be Shawn Copeland in 1975. “It is an uneasy story, categorically evil and inimical to the freedom of not only because it is rooted in the American all men everywhere, and particularly destructive dilemma – racism - but also because the position of black people in America. We are cognizant of [a] woman in an oppressed group is traditionally of our responsibility to witness to the dignity of delicate and strategic.”[xi] all persons as creatures of God, and are acutely The National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC) is aware of the fact that failure to denounce white one important example of Black women organizing racism, in fact, perpetuates this evil. Moreover, to challenge racism and white supremacy in the our failure to speak out against this evil exposes Church and in society. Established in 1968 after us to the risk of miscarrying and betraying that the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., scared trust which God our Father has seen fit Sr. M. Martin De Porres Grey took up leadership to place in our hands (published in Stamped with challenging white privilege, power,and racism. the Image of God: African Americans As God’s Image in Black).

In their first position paper written in 1969, “The FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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Since that time, the National Black Sisters’ Conference has consistently called for Church leaders to align themselves with the Gospel.

When the head of the USCCB, Archbishop Jose Gomez publicly demeaned Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements, the NBSC spoke up: As president of the Bishops’ Conference, Black Catholics had hoped that you and your brother bishops would have acted in solidarity with those who have suffered at the hands of white supremacy since first being kidnapped from their homeland and enslaved with the blessing of the Catholic Church.

In 1968, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus declared that the Catholic Church is a “racist institution”, and while significant progress has been made, the Church continues to fail its African American members by its frequent silence and now its condemnation of Black Lives Matter.[xii]

Finally, it is a sign of hope when white Catholic women stand in solidarity and work alongside Black Catholic women. Most recently the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) joined the National Black Sisters’ Conference in decrying efforts to suppress the vote in the United States calling the right to vote, “sacred.”

The National Black Sisters Conference (NBSC) and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) strongly oppose all attempts to restrict that participation by limiting the sacred right to vote. The strength and vibrancy of our democracy is dependent on the right of all people to vote regardless of their race, zip code, economic status, or party affiliation.

We must call out elected officials, at every level, who continue to introduce measures that would return us to the era of “Jim Crow.” They are celebrating our dark past by enacting laws that limit participation and threaten our democracy.

We pledge to oppose them at every turn, and we promise to support legislation that will ensure all people can exercise their precious right to vote.

Sources [i] Williams, Shannen Dee. From her presentation of February 14, 2022 for Call To Action Baltimore. [ii] Williams, Shannen Dee. https://www.ncronline.org/ news/opinion/church-must-make-reparation-its-roleslavery-segregation [iii] https://www.wbaltv.com/article/st-annscatholic-church-6-black-american-catholicscanonization/38126248# [iv] https://www.pewforum.org/2021/02/16/gendersexuality-and-religion/ [v] https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/02/ church-must-do-more-to-stop-exodus-of-blackcatholics-priest-says [vi] Dorsey, Kathleen Bellow. https://www.ncronline. org/news/coronavirus/black-catholic-women-voiceembodied [vii] Segura, Olga. https://www.ncronline.org/news/ coronavirus/black-catholic-women-voice-embodied FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

[viii] Lewis-Mosley, Valerie D. https://www.ncronline. org/news/opinion/my-unbridled-tongue-challengesinequities-threaten-black-womens-lives [ix] Heywood, Linda M. “Slavery and its Transformation in the Kingdom of Kongo: 1491 – 1800.” Journal ofAfrican History. 2009, Vol. 50. No. 1 (2009). pp 1-22. Cambridge University Press. [x] Davidson, Madeleine. https://www.ncronline.org/news/ accountability/panel-racism-compounds-clergy-sexabuse-crisis-black-catholics [xi] Copeland, Sister MaryShawn, OP, “Black Nuns: An Uneasy Story,” National Catholic Reporter, 7 March 1975, 9, 14 as cited in “Forgotten Habits, Lost Vocations: Black Nuns, Contested Memories, and the 19th Century” “Struggle to Desegregate U.S. Catholic Religious Life” by Shannen Dee Williams. [xii] https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.com/nbscgomez-statement/

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Catholics Comment on Hard Truths Found in Dr. Shannen Dee Williams’ book “Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle” In August, approximately one hundred and fifty Catholics gathered weekly for a four-part study of the book, Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle, sponsored by FutureChurch. This examination of the pioneering research by Shannen Dee Williams, Ph.D. drew both Black Catholics and White Catholics. It also drew members of religious communities.

This intentional, albeit temporary, community of seekers, understood that they were being invited to bear witness to a difficult truth about our Catholic history, a truth that had long been submerged and denied. Using the tools of faith – prayer, song, study, and witness – the group learned, listened deeply, and held themselves accountable as they explored gut wrenching realities together.

A Slave Holding, Segregationist Church White participants (composing approximately 80% of the group), like the rest of white America, received a sanitized version of slavery and segregation. The white educational enterprise shielded them from the abject violence and brutality of the slavery regime, while obscuring the ways it corrupted economic, social, and political life, disproportionately rewarding white citizens and disadvantaging black citizens. Moreover, they learned that while bad white people inaugurated slavery, good white people stopped it-- a notion that erases the widespread efforts of black citizens to disrupt and overturn the cruel enterprise.

This sanitizing mythology was further substantiated by white Catholics who trusted in the virtue of their Church on this matter. They believed the institutional Church had not only stood against slavery and segregation from the beginning but had consistently worked to dismantle it.

But Williams’ research challenged those consoling myths by demonstrating the Catholic Church’s complicity in slavery and segregation. Catholic popes not only inaugurated the transatlantic slave trade, but they enriched their coffers by buying, selling, and using slave labor in the building of their missions. Further, the Catholic Church was one of the largest practitioners of segregation during the Jim Crow era, keeping Black Catholics out of their orders, seminaries, and churches.

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Connecting the Past to the Present

the financial futures of their orders….”(5).

The connection between the Church’s collusion in our racist past and present-day racist violence from white America was not lost on these participants.

One reflected that learning more about the Church’s racist past, “helped me understand why the Church continues to fail us by not addressing the racism that is still so prevalent today.”

According to Williams, most white congregations “enforced racial exclusion and institutionalized ideas of white superiority and Black and Brown inferiority in their ranks and social service ministries for most of their histories…,” facts that remain “one of the Church’s best-kept secrets.” (5).

And, as many Black women attested in oral Others attested to the transformative power of interviews with Williams, “…when white sisterhoods opening oneself to the witness of those who have did admit African Americans into their novitiates experienced racism within our Church and society. and convents, this rarely translated into integration It [the book] gave me a different lens through – let alone sincere inclusion – without intense which to understand the perniciousness of Black struggle and suffering” (5). racism in the United States. Seeing it so vividly lived out in the Church made me understand, viscerally, how White Supremacy has completely saturated our entire society. I thought I knew about this, but my knowledge before reading this book was somewhat detached and cerebral.

I am White. I am in a new space of reckoning.

Some spoke of their exasperation with the noxious mix of racism and religion.

This pernicious attitude and mindset continues into the 21st century, among Christians and especially among Catholics who seem to me to hold themselves above all this evil. Having read Robert Jones’ ‘White Too Long,’ I am nearly fed up with the American Catholic Church.

Pioneering Black Women in Majority White Congregations

Sr. Jocita Colbert, President of the National Black Sisters Conference, who joined the book study’s third session as a presenter, confirmed that this intense struggle and suffering still occurs today. She explained that the lack of respect that some Black women suffer in majority white congregations often results in their leaving the congregation or reconsidering their vocations in religious life. Many religious vocations have been lost as a result.

Participants Respond Many participants responded to the legion of examples of anti-black racism with sadness, anger, shock, and indignation. One participant wrote, “The history of racism in American Catholic (white) women’s congregations is a real gut punch.”

While the chief focus of Williams’ work is to correct Another expressed indignation: the historical record and recover the prophetic [What most troubled me was] the discriminatory work of Black Catholic nuns who confronted the attitudes and hard racism and supremacy of racist institutions of their day, that story could not white sisters who saw themselves as generously be fully understood without shining a light on serving “inferior” people, while being destructive some hidden aspects of white congregational life. of the self-esteem of those children…

While recognizing that white sisterhoods were a pioneering force in the spread of the Gospel in the United States, Williams contends that few have considered that “before 1850 white congregations, including some of the earliest saints and sainthood candidates, relied on the labor, sale, and brutal mistreatment of enslaved people – and the economic benefits of whiteness and racial segregation -- to establish and secure FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

A common thread for white Catholics, many who had obtained a Catholic education, was the recognition that their education had been devoid of Black Catholic history and the complicity of their Church in racism.

I have had 16 years of Catholic education and many more years of activity, starting with charismatic prayer group, Cursillo, religious education teacher, Page 30

divorced Catholics ministry, RCIA team member – throughout the history of the Church and in their [but this knowledge] brought me to tears when I religious communities. One religious wrote that realized all that I had not been aware of. the most important take-away from the study was, “How much I don’t know and how much we were A self-identified Black Catholic who had been a not told in our formation as Sisters in the early 60s student of the Oblates, the first successful Roman about the reality in our world at the time.”

Catholic sisterhood established by women of African descent, expressed her surprise about the Others expressed similar opinions. role racism played in the Church.

As a member of a religious community which had As a cradle Black lay Catholic who was taught a few women of color at the time when I entered, I K-8 by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, I didn’t had never understood what they had experienced know such intolerance, hatred and just plain and why they did not stay. I am surprised now that awfulness existed in our Church.

I was so oblivious at the time.

For others, grief and anger catalyzed them to question their own lack of awareness.

To be honest, until recently, I had not given much thought to the reasons the few Black women were drawn to my community and to why they had The heavy reality of the book, the content on the left. Presently, we have one Black sister who has life in sisterhoods broke my heart, angered my remained for 29 years, and I did not wonder what psyche, and made me question my own blindness. she found in my community to support her all these While not thinking of myself as a white supremacist years. Thank you so much for the opportunity to all these years, I believe that is what I have been. open my mind and heart through these sessions!

No excuses.

Prophetic Black Catholic Nuns Shaping Our Faith White Women Religious Awakened If Williams’ objective was to weave the crucial Self-identified white women religious shared their witness and prophetic work of Black Catholic experience engaging with Williams’ research, Sisters back into our common Catholic narrative, confirming some of Williams’ key points about she was effective. the pitfalls of white-led educational and social Participants learned that the story of Black ministries in Black communities.

Catholicism in America began long before 1619 All of this was eye-opening to me. Even though I and, since those beginnings, Black Catholic Nuns had ministered in the Black community for over have been leaders in the freedom struggle and a third of my time in this diocese and had some prophets for our time. One participant captured contact with Black Sisters from NSBC in the 70s, I the spirit, writing, “The tenacity of our Black sisters did not have an appreciation of the overall issues and their strong belief in the Church drove them to keep up the fight. God bless every one of them.” addressed in the book study.

Having taught in our integrated schools and being in touch with some of these young Black women even today, how ignorant I was/am of their experiences. Our schools did seem a safe place for them to be themselves to some degree and, fortunately, leadership opportunities were available to them. I was not conscious that these young women were not encouraged to pursue religious life.

With regards to congregational life, many expressed sadness over the fact that they had been unaware of the realities Black women faced FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

The enthusiasm for proclaiming the Good News of Black Catholic Sisterhoods was expressed by a participant, “The stories of these great Black Catholic Sisters should be told from every pulpit, every classroom, every adult gathering, and RCIA program!”

Another expressed the need to make sure younger Catholics know the history.

[The most important take-away was] how much Black Catholics have contributed to Catholicism in the US under horrific situations. Their Page 31

commitment and persistence are incredible.

Their stories need to be told and heard by the young. The youth are today’s Catholics and they need to know the truth so that racism can be addressed and stopped.

Racial and Reparative Justice: The Work of the Gospel

The imperative to work for racial and reparative justice was voiced over and over by participants who wrote, “We have an obligation to provide reparations, both financially and educationally, Black Catholic Participants Express Hope and to acknowledge and apologize to Sisters of Self-identified Black Catholic participants color in our own congregation and throughout expressed satisfaction with the fact that white the Church.”

Catholics were present and open to learning more about the Black experience in the Catholic Church. Another suggested that the Church should develop, “A national plan of action that can be One wrote, “I am happy that it [this study] was adapted to each parish and community.” brought to a predominantly white upper middleclass audience.”

One voiced the need for reconciliation, “I believe the reality of the experience of African-Americans Another spoke of the importance of recovering the needs to be acknowledged.

Many religious history of Black Catholics, indigenous Catholics, communities still have not apologized for their and other Catholics of color advocating that the behavior.” promise and the failures of our Church be taught to all Catholics with honesty and integrity.

Finally, one participant made clear that their belief in God was the key to a world where all of God’s As a Black Catholic and convert, I was delighted children were celebrated and loved. to find this study and participate in this very important dialogue. Catholic education has an I have faced racism in the church, inside the important role to play in lifting up Black Catholic church, outside the church, often mistaken for history, indeed its vast history with indigenous somebody people perceive as one of them. I people and people of color worldwide. But it believe in GOD, creator of the awesome heavens must be done with honesty, integrity, and a Spirit and earth. How can I look at this splendor and of reconciliation. I felt [that Spirit] was evident not think that my Lord and my God has wanted in this study. There was no spirit of guilt or good for us ALL? We come in different colors as appeasement. The truth, even hard truths like the rainbows in the skies, we should be celebrated those presented in this book will set free any and as wonders of his creation. I understand that every one willing to receive the deliverance it only through love of Jesus will I be saved. Thank offers. you for educating me, giving me the tools to search and inform myself, and seek truth.

Still another reflected on the Catholic education they received, and the insights gained later in life.

This was kind of a walk down memory lane. I got my Catholic education in the church, in the early 1960’s, with hippy priests and nuns. Looking back now I guess it was more of a missionary experience. I remember prayers, cues of when to kneel, sit, stand, songs to this day. Hearing from others in the small groups I was surprised at the different experiences we all had. Realizing I was too young to understand the racism, bigotry that was there I thought this was the best of times.

It was a shock later in life.

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To view the videos from the book study and explore our free downloadable Women Witnesses for Racial Justice resources, go to: https://futurechurch.org/wicl/womenwitnesses-for-racial-justice/

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Catholics Women Make Gains in the Church A Synod Witness

On March 16, 2022, Deborah Rose, Co-Director of FutureChurch offered a witness for our synodal session on Women’s Equality and Full Participation in the Catholic Church. It has been updated to include changes made that benefit women after March 16th.

The text is reprinted on the following pages. continued on next page...

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I appreciate this chance to offer a witness. But, it is just that, one witness. I will inevitably fall short in saying what needs to be said on this topic. I will not capture the full picture, nor name all the women I want to name; those whom I want this Church to love, and to love fiercely.

When people at parties ask me what I do, Catholic or not, they usually laugh at my answer, the perceived futility of my work. Or, they go quiet; that awkward, stilted quiet that usually leads to one of us deciding we need another drink at the bar, or, the bathroom.

But if the other person is curious enough to learn more, somewhere around the 8 minute mark they inevitably ask, “Why do you stay?”

“Why would any woman stay in the Catholic Church after being treated the way they are treated?”

Deborah Rose Delivers Petitions in Rome, 2018

Well, every woman on this call, every man, every College was out for the girls in our family. I married person, will have their own answer to that question young; became a mother. In my small town, I got condolences instead of congratulations when I – a question I am sure you’ve also been asked. had daughters three and four.

But, for me, it’s personal.

But, like most women, I learned to resist. On There’s a fire in my belly that hasn’t been vocation Sunday, with my four daughters lined up extinguished in the 66 years I’ve been on this in the pew next to me, Father aimed his homily planet. I expect I will die with it. Since I was young, at the men and boys. My girls and I and all the I have always passionately cared for the poorest rest of the women at Mass were invisible. The women and children at the edges of existence. As injustice infuriated me. When I went to receive my mother told me over and over again growing the Eucharist, and Father offered, “The Body of up, “Debbie, you are always for the underdog.”

Christ” I replied, “Not yet.” Jesuit Daniel Berrigan once said, “Until women are fully integrated into And I recognize the role that this behemoth, the the Catholic Church, every time I go to the altar, I Catholic Church, plays in exacting justice for feel compromised.” vulnerable women, or hobbling and endangering them by sacralizing men’s worst impulses. Working I have never felt called to the priesthood, but for, and alongside women so they might gain I understand how important it is for women equality, dignity, autonomy, access; that is what I to be priests. I remember the first time I saw a was born to do. womanpriest. She was an Episcopal priest that I had heard about because of her work on the streets As a kid, I went to church most every day in the with the poor. I was late getting to the church, summers, during Lent, and on First Fridays. I lived and by the time I was able to slip into the back about 5 minutes from the “compound” – the bench, she was already preaching. She was petite, graveyard, grotto, convent, priesthouse, school but she had on the full priestly regalia; green for a and parish, and loved being there. I had a happy Sunday in Ordinary time. And she had both hands existence and I felt very close to God. in the air as she energetically preached the Gospel.

But, as I grew up, like most women, I began to But, as I watched I noticed her vestments were recognize the limitations that were being placed moving. And the movement did not coincide with her preaching body. It continued about a minute on my life.

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more, and then, out from under her vestments popped a tiny, toddling, blond boy; who then, began running circles around her as she preached.

It was her grandson. And he was just being a kid.

And she was just being a grandma, even as she preached about the plight of the poor and Jesus to her parishioners. As I sat in the back pew, I wept, watching the familiarity of it all, the joy, the humanity. I thought, what would it be like if we, Catholics, saw that modeled at our altars?

When others fled, she and the other women stayed.

When the church in the West tried to downgrade her to prostitute status, feminist theologians and biblical scholars recovered her and her true historical role; a role for which she was finally officially recognized in 2016 by the Vatican - the Apostle to the Apostles.

Think of Phoebe. She is named diakonos in the Bible, and although she is an underachiever in the tradition of a male dominated church that applies We are an impoverished bunch. That’s for sure. one set of interpretive rules to men and another set We are left starving for women’s voices, women’s to women - women theologians, biblical scholars, faith, women’s wisdom, women’s love throughout and canonists have recovered her historical role – our Catholic land. her authentic leadership and ministry – for all the Church to follow.

And many of us struggle on, working ever so hard to squeeze out meaning in a communal life, too narrowly imagined by a group of elitist, clericalist “Women are rising. men.

The same men who: fuss about which pronouns can be used in baptisms;

They always have.

They always will.”

•

try to determine which form of contraception Recall the way women organized into religious women can use; communities where they could expand their • discount women of color who, because of autonomy and their missions in the face of an increasingly patriarchal and hierarchical church. their Catholic faith, say Black Lives Matter Religious sisters played a critical role in shaping • condemn women who love and marry other Christianity by establishing schools, hospitals, and women; orphanages - and confronting poverty and injustice of every sort. And, as we witnessed in 2009 and • punish women religious when they step out 2012, when the Vatican and the US bishops tried of line; to crack down on them, they resisted. And I might • and cover up when little girls and vulnerable say, in stellar form! women are sexually abused by one of their Think of the way Black Catholic women religious own. disrupted slavery’s ravages, de-segregated white This is a corrupted, clericalist structure; one that religious congregations, confronted racism women are resisting; that women are dismantling; within the Catholic Church, and challenged the oppression of their day by educating and caring for that women are re-imagining and re-building. children of color. We rightly know John Augustus Women are rising. They always have. They always Tolton, the first Black priest in the United States, will. but have not yet understood and appreciated his Think of Mary Magdalene. She was close to Jesus. risk taking mother, Martha. She played a critical I dare say she is his co-equal in Spirit. And HE role in the life of the Church when, with three recognized her faith, her relationship with God in small children in tow, including John, she escaped her own right. And he relied on her, her gifts, her slavery by rowing a broken down boat across the support, and her courage in the face of brutality. Mississippi to Illinois.

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A group gathers to protest the visition of the LCWR as a part of NunJustice project, which FutureChurch was a part of.

Consider the way women have pioneered a pathway to the priesthood today in the face of excommunication by churchmen. They are growing a community of ordained equals who are rebuilding the priesthood into a servant priesthood.

Since Vatican II Deborah Rose Delivers Petitions in Rome, 2018

Women religious refashioned their communities.

They have “come out” as CEO, CFOs, canon lawyers, heads of Catholic universities, pastors at parishes, advocates for the poor and for those whom the church shamed and excluded. Think of Jeannine Gramick.

Since Vatican II

And although there were troubles aplenty under Pope John Paul II, who wanted to remarket the sacralized repression of women under the clever new title “complementarity,” with its famous descriptors of women, as “feminine geniuses,” women are rising.

After the election of Pope Francis in 2013, there have been some significant changes. And these changes have come about because of the decades long work of women.

In 2014 Sr. Mary Melone was appointed the first female rector of a Roman pontifical university.

Women entered male dominated fields and Marie Collins, Irish survivor of priest abuse, and a became theologians, historians, biblical scholars, number of other women were appointed to the canon lawyers, ecclesiologists, liturgists, first ever Vatican commission for the protection chancellors and more. Womanist, feminist, of children from clergy sex abuse. mujerista and queer theology took hold and offered a life-giving lens by which to re-read our In 2015 scriptures and our tradition.

Francis halted the Vatican crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious Since Vatican II because of their faithful tenacity.

Eighty percent of all lay ecclesial ministers are At the 2015 Synod on the Family, the head of women. Most of them have been educated, the International Union of Superiors General, Sr. often at their own expense.

Carmen Sammut, lobbied hard for the inclusion FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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of women. And Francis’ new synod structure with small language groups offered more opportunities for those women to influence the process.

And at that same synod, Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher was the first to publicly call for women deacons in such a setting. He would not be the last as we would see in 2019.

In 2016

the organizing structure for the Synod of Bishops.

That year, seven women were appointed to the governing body of the Congregation for Religious Life; a very important shift, since clerics had always maintained control.

And in October, the bishops of the Amazon called for women deacons in a region where priests are scarce, and women have always led and built up the Church.

Francis issued the Decree on Holy Thursday’s Foot Washing Ceremony to include women.

While that may not seem important to Catholics in the west, in some regions, the bishops quit offering the ceremony rather than include women.

In May, because the women of the International Union of Superiors General pressed, Pope Francis created a commission with half women and half men to study women deacons. Phyllis Zagano was a force to be reckoned with in Rome and beyond.

Votes for Catholic Women Campaign at Synod on the Amazon

In June, Pope Francis elevated the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast day, calling her the In 2020 Apostle to the Apostles.

The first woman was appointed to one of the highest-ranking posts at the Secretariat of State.

Barbara Jatta was the first woman appointed as director of the Vatican Museums.

In August of that year, six European women with backgrounds in finance were appointed to join In 2017 eight cardinals as members of the Council for Two lay women, were appointed as underthe Economy. secretaries in the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, In 2021 the Family and Life.

In 2018 At the Synod on Youth, for the first time, the final document called for the inclusion of women as a “matter of justice.” Young women and men would not be silenced. And the bishops listened.

In 2019 Because women courageously came forward, Pope Francis publicly acknowledged for the first time that women religious were being sexually abused by priests.

Pope Francis issued the motu proprio, Spiritus Domini which officially and canonically sanctioned women to serve as lectors and acolytes.

Sr. Raffaella Petrini was named the number two position in the governorship of Vatican City, making her the highest-ranking woman in the Vatican.

Sr. Alessandra Smerilli was named to the interim position of secretary of the Vatican’s development office, which deals with justice and peace issues.

The first women consultors were appointed to FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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Catholics Witness for Equality in the Church in Ireland on International Women’s Day 2020

Sr. Natalie Becquart was named as undersecretary Women are rising. All over the world. to the Synod of Bishops and will be the first They are making new demands for women’s woman to vote at the synod. equality in Germany as they continue their In 2022 synodal process.

On March 19, Pope Francis issued introduced a They are holding churchmen accountable in landmark reform, Praedicate Evangelium, that Australia as their plenary process proceeds. will allow any baptized lay Catholic, including And they are gathering in the streets in India and women, to head most Vatican departments under crying out for justice, when criminals dressed in a new constitution for the Holy See’s central bishops’ clothing rape and abuse nuns. administration. The new constitution took effect on Pentecost and will have a significant impact Women are the lifeblood of the church. on the institution’s relationship with women opening new positions of authority to them They have shaped me in profound ways: whether it was struggling over a theological treatise by across the board.* Rosemary Radford Ruther; being challenged In July, Pope Francis, for the first time, named to see my own participation in racist structures three women to serve as members of the Vatican by Diana Hayes, Shawn Copeland and Shannen committee that vets bishop nominations. Italian Dee Williams; or witnessing the courage, candor, sister Raffaella Petrini, French sister Yvonne and strength of women under direct attack by Reungoat and laywoman Maria Lia Zervino will join churchmen, like Chris Schenk, Louise Akers, and the previously all-male office. The appointments Pat Farrell. are the latest in a series of significant moves allowing women more say in Catholic Church I have been forever transformed by women in our governance. The dicastery oversees the work church. And I am profoundly grateful. How about of most of the church’s 5,300 bishops, who you? run dioceses around the world. Its members -- *The March 19 landmark legislation of Pope Francis has been including cardinals, bishops and now women -- added since it offers a deep systemic shift in the structure of meet periodically to evaluate new bishops who the institutional church. are proposed by Vatican ambassadors.** **The appointment of three women to the Office of Bishops is a historical move and one that will give women much greater authority in the selection of bishops.

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FutureChurch Welcomes the Appointment of Three Women to the Dicastery for Bishops; Celebrates Women’s Persistent Call for Equality On July 13, 2022, Pope Francis fulfilled a recent pledge by appointing three women - Sr. Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, F.M.A., and Dr. Maria Lia Zervino – to the Vatican’s influential Dicastery for Bishops, which advises the pope on episcopal appointments throughout the world.

FutureChurch has long advocated for the decoupling of ordination and leadership as one path toward gender equality in the Church and welcomes the appointments. They are one important step in women’s steady march toward equality in the Church. And with all gratitude to Pope Francis for making these changes, we acknowledge and celebrate the generations of Catholic women and their allies whose tireless pursuit for equality paved the way for them.

In fact, one of the appointees, Dr. Zervino, herself penned an open letter to Pope Francis in March 2021, writing “I think that not enough has been done in taking advantage of the wealth of women who make up a large part of God’s people.”

Moreover, she called on him to expand leadership roles for women in the Church: “May the desire expressed by you, that women enter decisionmaking groups together with men, cease to be considered a utopia and become something common in the Church.”

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FutureChurch also maintains that while progress is being made, full equality will require the ordination of women and the established presence of women in leadership at every level of the Church.

We realize that bringing more women into these leadership positions is a step in the right direction.

Still, we recognize that women receive a call from God to ordained ministry in the Church, and in the spirit of synodality, Pope Francis and all Church leaders should listen to their vocation stories and discern where the Spirit may be calling the Church through them.

Women have always been pastoral and spiritual leaders in their communities, parishes, and families and have increasingly taken up decisionmaking roles in the Vatican over the last several years. And Pope Francis’ recent reform of the Curia opens up even more possibilities. Progress is being made, but FutureChurch will continue to educate, witness, and advocate until the Church is truly the Body of Christ in the world, fully alive with the gifts, wisdom, and vocations of all its members.

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Women Erased Series FutureChurch’s Women Erased Series Going Strong with 25 Presentations So Far! Since 2020, FutureChurch has hosted twenty-five feminist scholars and activists in our Women Erased series. Our scholars help uncover the many ways women’s leadership, witness, and ministries have been erased from our Church’s Sacred Texts and Lectionary, historical record and memory, and communities. These sessions, featuring leading Scripture scholars and Church historians, not only name and explore the history, but also put forth resources for correcting the record and telling the true story of women’s central role in shaping and spreading Christianity from its beginnings to today. continued on next page...

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Professor Margaret Susan Thompson examined how the history of the Catholic Church in the United States was indelibly shaped by the contributions of sisters – by their work in the parochial school system, their founding and administration of hundreds of hospitals, and their efforts to build a network of charitable organizations. These ministries have transformed the lives of millions of Catholics and the social and humanitarian character of the nation itself. Sisters also have long been advocates for social justice, and unlike most priests, have always provided services not only for Catholics but for the entire population.

As laypeople, like most Catholics, sisters have experienced the impact of “engendered power” applied to them by generations of priests and prelates. Thompson’s presentation revealed the history of their resistance and the ways they built a more egalitarian and supportive church and world.

Professor Joan Taylor and Elizabeth Schrader presented their research on the Meaning of Magdalene based on the literary evidence. Their article, published in the Journal of Biblical Literature in December 2021 examines the Gospel of Luke, Origen, Eusebius, Macarius Magnes, and Jerome, as well as evidence in hagiography, pilgrimage, and diverse literature, reveals multiple ways that the epithet ἡ Μαγδαληνή can be understood and why it is perhaps best left untranslated. Participants learned that while it is common today to refer to Jesus’s disciple Μαρία[μ] ἡ Μαγδαληνή as Mary “of Magdala,” with Magdala identified as a Galilean city named Tarichaea, the earliest Christian sources may point to another way to understand her name.

While Mary sometimes was believed to come from a place called “Magdala” or “Magdalene,” Jerome thought that the epithet was a reward for Mary’s faith and actions, not something indicative of provenance: Mary “of the Tower.” In view of the earlier evidence of Origen and Jerome, however, the term ἡ Μαγδαληνή may be based on an underlying Aramaic word meaning “the magnified one” or “tower-ess,” and is therefore best left untranslated.

Paul such as Junia the Apostle and Phoebe the deacon, women martrys like Perpetua, Felicity, and Thecla, women prophets who belonged to groups like the Montanists, the presence of the feminine divine in gnostic texts, women who were maligned and silenced by Church Father, monastic women, and more. Professor Patel also shared newly discovered evidence of women’s leadership found in the Ashdod mosaics.

Shaily Patel

Professor Ross Kraemer explored the question of whether the authorship of Jewish and Christian texts was a “male only” enterprise. Or did Jewish and Christian women also shape the writings that are foundational for Christians today? Since a significant portion of early literature is either anonymous or pseudonymous, past assumptions of male authorship are rightly subject to new lines of feminist inquiry. Professor Kraemer examined a few texts that may have been composed by women and ended the presentation asking participants if and why this mattered in the 21st century.

Stay tuned for more presentations!

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To find all the presenters from our Women Erased series go to: https://futurechurch.org/wicl/womenerased/.

Professor Shaily Patel presented a host of evidence showing how women served as leaders in the Early Church. Stories around Jesus included Mary, Mary, Mary and Martha, Co-workers with FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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In his NCR piece, Fraga made a short list of Catholic organizations receiving dark money. They included, the Thomas More Society, the Catholic Association Foundation, The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Communio Foundation, and more. Donors Trust also gave more than $182M to anti-abortion groups.

In April, Joshua McElwee, editor at NCR discussed Praedicate Evangelium – the new Apostolic Constitution governing the Curia and the changes that are coming as a result. According to McElwee, Francis felt that he was given a mandate by the Cardinals who elected him in 2013 to try and reform the Vatican. The Vatican is a government and has to have rules for how it governs itself and how it interacts with foreign governments and with Catholics around the world. Francis has made it quite clear in this document how he wants this institution to be interacting with Catholics, what goals he wants to be prioritizing and the priorities for the church in this century. Evangelization is his top priority. He wants dialogue with theologians instead of silencing. And Catholic liturgy should follow the renewal taken by the Second Vatican Council.

Alessandra Harris

In the past, Christine Schenk, CSJ, spoke on the changes to canon law in light of our work for women deacons; Christian Wiesner (We Are Church Germany) spoke about the synodal path in Germany and Cardinal Marx’s attempted resignation; NCR’s Christopher White talked about the USCCB’s attempts at politicizing/weaponizing the Eucharist; The Tablet’s Christopher Lamb Prior to the Pope’s journey to Canada, we featured spoke about the controversy over Pope Francis’s Canadian writer Dr. David Lafferty talking about new rules on the Latin Mass; and Dr. Steven Millies residential schools in Canada and the Catholic spoke about ethics and standards in Catholic Church’s complicity in abusing indigenous media after the publication of The Pillar’s article peoples. Although Lafferty was skeptical of the on a priest accused of sexual misconduct. criticism the Church was receiving, as he learned more about the abuse, his position changed and he began to see the Church’s role in a much more critical light.

In January, Christian Wiesner and his wife Renate Holmes joined us to share the Munich Report on clergy sex abuse and the cover up by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when he was a cardinal in Germany, and the latest response of German Catholics to that report.

Alessandra Harris, who writes for Black Catholic Messenger responded to Archbishop Gomez’s comments about BLM and “pseudo religions.”

She gave a brilliant talk which is published on our news website.

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 To learn more about our TalkUp Tuesday sessions, go to: https://futurechurch.org/talkup-tuesdays

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Celebrating the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene Catholics Follow in Mary Magdalene’s Footsteps Since 1997, FutureChurch has hosted annual celebrations of the life, ministry, and apostleship of St. Mary Magdalene.

Although her true role as the Apostle of the Apostles was suppressed in favor of the prostitute, penitent version of Mary Magdalene, she is finally receiving widespread honor and recognition with the 2016 decree raising her memorial to a feast day alongside St. Peter and St. Paul. continued on next page...

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As Catholics recover the authenticity of St. Mary Magdalene’s ministry and authority in the Church, we also remember how she stood with Jesus, a victim of brutal state violence in her day.

Thus, this year, recognizing that horrific violence of every kind rages around us, we turned our prayer service focus to the epidemic of gun violence and reflected on how Mary Magdalene’s story instructs and inspires us today as we seek to bring about change. FutureChurch board member, Crystal Catalan, beautifully led the prayer service, which asked participants to place themselves with Mary Magdalene and make the journey with her from the cross to Easter morning.

We do not want you to think of Lexi as just a number. She was intelligent, compassionate, and athletic. She was quiet. Shy, unless she had a point to make. When she knew she was right, as she so often was, she stood her ground. She was firm, direct, voice unwavering. So, today, we stand for Lexi, and, as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and highcapacity magazines. We understand that for some reason, to some people, to people with money, to people who fund political campaigns, that guns are more important than children, so at this moment we ask for progress. We seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age. We seek red flag laws, stronger background checks. We also want to repeal gun manufacturers liability immunity.

To begin the prayer service, the 400 Catholics who gathered virtually, were invited to intentionally placed themselves with Mary at the foot of the The gathering also heard the words of X. González, cross as she witnessed Jesus’ violent death and a survivor of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas remembered those who have been killed in High School in Parkland, Florida. incidents of gun violence in the last year.

Since the time of the Founding Fathers and We recalled the ten people – all of them Black – since they added the Second Amendment to who were killed at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, the Constitution, our guns have developed New York, on July 19, 2022. at a rate that leaves me dizzy. The guns have changed and the laws have not. We certainly We recalled the 19 young elementary school do not understand why it should be harder to students and 2 teachers killed at Robb Elementary make plans with friends on weekends than to School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022 before buy an automatic or semi-automatic weapon. police shot and killed the 18-year-old gunman.

The people in the government who were voted We recalled the surgeon and three others shot and into power are lying to us…They say no laws killed by a patient who turned the gun on himself could have prevented the hundreds of senseless at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June tragedies. We call BS. That us kids don’t know 1, 2022. what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We We recalled the three young girls and their guardian call BS. If you agree, register to vote. Contact who were killed by their father, who ultimately your local congresspeople. Give them a piece of turned the gun on himself, at The Church in your mind.

Sacramento, California on February 28, 2022.

We recalled the six people – three women and three men – who were killed when a fight broke out in downtown Sacramento, California in the early morning hours of April 2, 2022.

Both women spoke to those gathered through their grief and trauma in the immediate aftermath of their own experiences of gun violence.

Finally, participants joined Mary as she set out for Then those who gathered placed themselves with the tomb on that first Easter morning to discover Mary in the uncertain time between Crucifixion and the Risen One. And through the preaching of Dr. Resurrection as those gathered heard the words of Kimberly Lymore we considered how Christ is Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed in calling us to join Mary as bearers of the Good News in a world so desperate for the Gospel today.

Ulvade, Texas.

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2022 Mary Magdalene Virtual Art Tour Explores Depictions of Mary in East and West FutureChurch was once again joined by, Dr. Christine Axen, a medievalist whose research explores the depiction of women in medieval art and the messages that art conveys about social order, for our third virtual tour of art depicting Mary Magdalene through the ages.

cultural contexts, Dr. Axen presentation explored how these disparate treatments influenced artistic representations of Mary Magdalene.

The images from the West matter throughout the history of the church, because, rather than offering Mary Magdalene, and by extension, all women, The misidentification of Mary as reformed public as apostles, disciples, and ministers, churchmen sinner achieved official standing in a homily succeeded in silencing and sidelining women’s delivered by Pope Gregory I (540-604). Henceforth, gifts and voice in the Church.

Mary of Magdala became known in the west, not as the strong woman leader who accompanied Still, thanks to the work and advocacy of Jesus through a tortuous death, first witnessed his FutureChurch and other activists, the Good News Resurrection, and proclaimed the Risen Savior to of St. Mary Magdalene’s apostleship is officially the early church, but as a wanton woman in need recognized and opening the doors for women’s of repentance and a life of hidden (and hopefully gifts, faith, and ministry today. silent) penitence. The Eastern church, however, never identified her as a prostitute, and honored To learn more about our efforts to her throughout history as “the Apostle to the “Reclaim Magdalene” go to: Apostles.” https://futurechurch.org/wicl/mary-ofComparing two different homilies - one by Gregory magdala/ I and one by Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch - and their

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Nearly 1,400 Catholic Schools in the Northeast U.S. Receive the Gift of Mary Magdalene In time for Easter, Catholic schools throughout the northeast part of the United States received the gift of art – an image of Sr. Margaret (Peggy) Beaudette’s artistic rendering of St. Mary Magdalene as the Apostle to the Apostle - along with educational materials designed for each grade level. Thanks to the generous gift of an anonymous donor, art and materials were sent to 1,387 Catholic schools in New York, New Jersey, Maine, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Virginia.

by the Vatican, FutureChurch seeks to offer art and educational materials that accurately reflect her role in salvation history to Catholics students in grades K – 12, in universities, and in seminaries. In this way, her evangelizing role can be more fully appreciated in the life of the church today.

Commissioned by FutureChurch board member, Rita L. Houlihan, Margaret (Peggy) Beaudette, SC, whose art and teaching inspired thousands of Catholics throughout her lifetime, created the original relief. After much study, prayer, and meditation on the Scripture passages, Sr. Peggy For over 2000 years, Christians have depicted the began her design by first rendering the figure of Word of God and our stories of salvation history Mary of Magdala followed by the other figures through art. In every era, artists created images in the scene. She rendered the expressions and that responded to the currents of their time with postures of the disciples as they received the lifeimages that reflected and reinforced commonly giving news. held understandings of faith, along with the major figures Christians sought to emulate. Thus, visual Sister Margaret (Peggy) Beaudette (1928 – art has had a central role in the evangelization 2017) received a BA in Art from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and an MFA from efforts of the Church throughout history. the Catholic University of America in Washington, By focusing on the figure of Mary Magdalene, DC, with a major in sculpture. After years of this initiative, not only recognizes the way art teaching, in 1987, Sister Peggy began to work has tragically misrepresented her as a repentant full time as a sculptor. Since that time, her prostitute over the centuries, but, more work, which includes more than sixty major importantly, seeks to recover her authentic role statues, can be seen across the United States in as “Apostle of the Apostles” and celebrate Pope hospitals, churches, shrines, and places of burial.

Francis’s 2016 decree that elevated her memorial In addition, she has sculptures in France, Canada, to a feast day (July 22). According to his decree, Bermuda, Haiti, and South Korea. Sister Margaret is Apostolorum Apostola, “St. Mary Magdalene is an the recipient of various awards: the J. Dudley Diggs example of true and authentic evangelization, that Award for Sculpture, the Mother Teresa Award from is, an evangelizer who proclaims the joyful central the Saint Bernadette Institute of Sacred Art, and message of Easter.” The message concludes, “For the Seton Legacy of Charity Bicentennial Medal, as this reason it is right that the liturgical celebration one whose life emulates the spirit and mission of of this woman should have the same rank of Feast Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, to name a few. as that given to the celebration of the Apostles in the General Roman Calendar and that the special Sister Peggy once said, “My sculpture was the best mission of this woman should be underlined, she way I could express that God, evercompassionate who is an example and model for all women in the and kind, is incarnated in the figures I sculpt.”

Church.”

Each of the nearly 1,400 schools received a For over 20 years FutureChurch has been lifting up canvas of Sr. Peggy’s art “St. Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene through our resource materials Apostle of the Apostles,” educational materials for and annual celebrations. With this new recognition teachers along with age appropriate materials for FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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each grade level. Each school also received a feedback form.

Of all the forms received, 98% strongly agreed or agreed that the materials were helpful, well designed, and easy to use. A few teachers offered comments on ways to improve the educational materials for their grade level.

Most expressed their gratitude: Thank you for these beautiful materials!

Margaret (Peggy) Beaudette, SC

My sculpture was the best way I could express that God, ever compassionate

We displayed the artwork in the hallway and our principal brought it around to all the classrooms.

The eighth-grade class shared the story with the younger students of our school thereby serving as apostles and evangelists to the entire school. We are planning to share this art and story with the residents of the Saint Vincent de Paul Archcare Residence next year.

This was a beautiful surprise and a wonderful way to celebrate women’s roles in Scripture.

We hung this beautiful piece of art in our school foyer.

My fifth-graders loved learning about St. Mary Magdalene and the materials were interesting.

Sr. Mary Magdalene taught for years at our school. This is why this art and the lessons were even more important to our students.

and kind,

Thank you for the wonderful gift and lessons! This was displayed at our art walk in our hallway so the children will be able to see it all the time.

is incarnated

This was a tribute to the call of St. Mary Magdalene, but also the call of God’s gifts we all receive.

in the figures I sculpt.

- Margaret (Peggy) Beaudette, SC

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It would be wonderful to have a children’s book to read on St. Mary Magdalene. I’m not sure if there are any, but this would be wonderful, along with included art work. My students loved the art from this unit, and enjoyed hearing about Sr. Peggy. Thank you!

With this project, students of all ages are learning about Mary Magdalene’s courage and her leadership as the first witness to the resurrection joyfully announcing the Good News to the apostles, disciples, and friends of Jesus. Her apostleship, discipleship, gifts, faith, and love for Jesus will be remembered and honored by all.

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Bread Not Stones: Catholics Witness at U.S. Bishops’ Conference in Baltimore In November 2021, FutureChurch joined other Catholics in Baltimore as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met to discuss whether to officially deny Holy Communion to high profile Catholics who support choice and equal treatment of LGBTQ+ people under the law.

executive director of DignityUSA, during the witness.

While Pope Francis has holistically called Catholics to stand against all forms of violence and poverty, the U.S. bishops have chosen to ignore his guidance and example. While they exhort voters to take a stand against one issue – abortion – they, in effect, ignore issues Pope Francis calls “equally important” such as gun violence, climate change, racism, poverty, and gender-based violence, as well as other forms of violence.

Under the campaign, “Bread Not Stones” FutureChurch and several other organizations who are members of Catholic Organizations for Renewal gathered, prayed, and marched, urging bishops to move away from overidentifying with one political party and increasing the polarization in the Church. Further, the gathered Catholics Although the bishops averted a disastrous turn called on bishops to enter more authentically into toward partisanship at their November assembly, their funding of a Eucharistic Revival will likely their roles as pastors. serve a similar purpose in the long run.

“We are here today standing for all the Catholics, the vast majority of Catholics, who cherish the FutureChurch will continue to speak up for a Eucharist and who do not want to see this central church that is inclusive, just, and Gospel-oriented. sacrament of our church weaponized for culture war purposes,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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FutureChurch gatherings build and grow community online.

In the Spring of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world inside and online, FutureChurch responded by initiating a twice-weekly online Liturgy of the Word and Faith Sharing for likeminded Catholics to come together for worship, support, and conversation.

board member Vickey McBride alternate leading live music. And members of the community volunteer to lead and read. The 25 minutes of sharing and conversation following the readings and preaching remain a staple of the gathering. All are welcome to join these weekly liturgies!

As vaccinations became more readily available and parish communities began together, though, participants in the gatherings indicated a strong desire to keep meeting. These liturgies didn’t just “see” participants through the worst of the pandemic, they created a new community - a community that had become an important part of the lives of everyone in it.

Our 2020 Greece Pilgrims, who returned home from Greece at the very beginning of the pandemic, continue to meet monthly. These gatherings began the first Thursday after returning home so pilgrims could check in and report on their health and wellbeing. In the years sinse, the community that had just started to blossom during our travels around Greece continues to bloom and bear fruit with pilgrims attending events togethers, supporting And so, while the liturgies have been scaled back one another’s endeavors and successes, and even to just once per week on Sunday nights at 7pm ET, arranging travel plans to visit each other. the community continues to assemble and worship together, supporting each other, celebrating life’s ups, and grieving life’s down’s together.

FutureChurch Co-Director Russ and Petrus and FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

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TalkUP Tuesdays Offer Catholics an Opportunity to Discuss Breaking Developments in the Church FutureChurch launched a new series last year to news about the church in other dioceses and give Catholics who are concerned or curious about around the world. breaking news in the Catholic Church a space to learn more and dialogue. Since our launch, we have hosted well known figures like Marie Collins, who sat on the Commission for the Protection of Children, and who is a strong critic of Pope Francis’ policies on holding abusers and clerics who cover up accountable.

In August 16, 2022, National Catholic Reporter’s Christopher White talked about his experience traveling to Canada with Pope Francis as he embarked on a penitential pilgrimage apologizing to indigenous victims of Catholic residential schools. For White, the Pope took meaningful action that brought healing to indigenous Catholics offering a model for authentic reform and reparations for the future.

Fordham University’s David Gibson

In July, Fordham University’s David Gibson offered his perspective about the state of Catholic media and the USCCB’s decision to defund Catholic News Service (CNS). He began with the degradation of media outlets in general and especially at the local and regional level. But, as in his NCR article, he explained how shuttering CNS, which was funded by the USCCB, eliminates a “rare source of credibility” for the hierarchy. He also noted that closing down the domestic operations of CNS will have a terrible practical effect because diocesan newspapers and websites across the country depend on CNS content to fill out their page with FutureChurch 32nd Annual Fall Event

National Catholic Reporter’s Brian Fraga

In June, National Catholic Reporter journalist, Brian Fraga, spoke at length about dark money in the Catholic Church and how that flow affects the wider political landscape in the United States in very negative ways. Using a powerpoint presentation to help simplify the complexities involved, he explained how the organization, Donors Trust, described as a “dark money ATM” for the political right has provided funding to groups linked to white supremacist and anti-democratic elements, was at the center of the misinformation campaign that spread lies about the 2020 presidential election and organized the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Donor Trust’s 990 tax return for 2020 details the network of right-wing groups that received hefty donations: Tea Party Patriots Foundation, Turning Point USA, American Enterprise Institute, the Federalist Society, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, and more. But even more troubling is the funding it offers right-wing Catholic nonprofits and official Catholic groups. Traditionalist Catholic parishes, dioceses headed by conservative bishops like Bishop Thomas Daly, pro-life organizations, religious liberty law firms, a free-market think tank, and academic groups at Catholic colleges that advocate libertarianism and constitutional originalism all get big sums.

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The Sisters of the Congregation of St. Joseph wish to recognize and thank

FutureChurch for helping us to “be Church” for the past 32 years.

We are grateful for and support your efforts around building a synodal church to ensure all Catholics have the opportunity to fully participate in Church life and leadership.

Congratulations Yunuen Trujillo recipient of the Sister Christine Schenk, CSJ, Award for Young Adults

Sister Maureen Sullivan, OP recipient of the Louis J. Trivison Award

To learn more about our justice work, visit us at CSJoseph.org/Social-Justice

SYNODALITY:

Women's Ordination Conference is a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue, and prayerful witness to call for women’s full equality and ordination in a renewed Church.

WE'VE BEEN WALKING TOGETHER SINCE 1975.

WOMENSORDINATION.ORG #ORDAINWOMEN

#LETHERVOICECARRY

TEXT ORDAINWOMEN TO 44321 TO DONATE

Congratulations FutureChurch for your 32 years of working to provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in the life of the Church. May you have many more years of continued dedication!

SCE9?A.CWOC

We are women and men rooted in faith, dedicated to obtaining justice, equality, and full partnership in ministry. We are committed to church renewal and to the transformation of a structure which uses gender rather than gifts as its criterion for ministry.

SEPAWOC P.O. Box 52046 Philadelphia, PA 19115

www.sepawoc.org

LGBTQIA+ Catholics, allies and family members: Join our NEW Northeast Ohio chapter for affirming liturgy and community!

Meetings starting now—email neohio@dignityusa.org for location and information.

Visit our DIGNITY/NE OH Facebook page to connect with our community.

Visit dignityusa.org for more information about DignityUSA chapters and affiliation groups.

Honors and Thanks

Rafael Luciani, STD Sr. Maureen Sullivan, OP Yunuen Trujillo* for their insightful and compassionate work in building a more synodal church

Keep in touch with how Catholics are building a more inclusive church for LGBTQ people

* Read some of Yunuen Trujillo’s thoughts on LGBTQ ministry: https://www.NewWaysMinistry.org/author/yunuen-trujillo/

www.NewWaysMinistry.org phone: 301-277-5674 email: info@NewWaysMinistry.org

Congratulations to the 2022 award honorees Maureen Sullivan, OP and Yunuen Trujillo -The Sisters of the Humility of Mary

@SistersHM

@SistersofHM

humilityofmary.org

FutureChurch, Thank you for engaging at the intersection of faith and public life!

InterReligious Task Force on Central America Join with us to bolster the international solidarity movement— standing with marginalized and vulnerable communities in Latin America, at our border, in immigration detention facilities, in county jails and state prisons, and on the streets of Cleveland.

All people—everywhere—deserve dignity, care, and safe communities.

SOLIDARIT Y Our liberation is bound together IRTFcleveland.org facebook.com/IRTF1981 @IRTFCleveland

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Other FutureChurch Sites www.catholicwomendeacons.org dedicated to restoring women deacons

www.catholicwomenpreach.org video and text of women preaching on the weekly scriptures

www.reclaimmagdalene.org dedicated to telling the true story of Mary of Magdala

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